Christin Elizabeth Cooper (born October 10, 1959) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer and Olympic medalist from the United States.

Early years Born in Los Angeles, California,The Ski Channel - top 50 Olympians - accessed 2010-12-27 she was raised in Ketchum, Idaho, and learned to ski and race at neighboring Sun Valley. Cooper's stepfather was William C. "Bill" Janss (1918–96), owner of the Sun Valley Resort until 1977.

After her father William died of cancer in Los Angeles, her mother Glenn moved the family of five children to Ketchum in the late 1960s. At the request of longtime friends Bill and Anne Janss, owners of Sun Valley, Mrs. Cooper founded the arts center for the resort in 1969. Anne Janss died in an avalanche accident near the resort in early 1973; later that year Glenn Cooper and Bill Janss were married, with a combined family of eight children.

Racing career As a member of the U.S. Ski Team, Cooper raced on the World Cup circuit from 1977-84. Starting the 1977 season on the "C" team, she made her World Cup debut at age 17 on January 19 and finished 14th in a slalom at Schruns, Austria; a week later she had a tenth-place finish in the slalom at Crans-Montana, Switzerland. Best in the technical events, she raced in all five disciplines, with World Cup podiums in four. She broke her ankle during training in August, prior to the 1978 season. She competed in the slalom at the 1978 World Championships in Garmisch, West Germany, but did not finish. At the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid at age twenty, she was eighth in the slalom and seventh in the giant slalom at Whiteface Mountain.

Cooper's best season in international competition was in 1982, when she won three medals (two silvers and a bronze) at the World Championships at Haus im Ennstal, Austria. She also had three World Cup victories and placed third in the 1982 World Cup overall standings. The previous season, she finished fourth in the women's overall and second in slalom.

A downhill training crash in late January at Les Diablerets in Switzerland sidelined her for the remainder of the 1983 season. It resulted in a compression fracture in her left tibia just below the knee and required a bone graft from her hip. Cooper returned to form the following season with five early podiums before the 1984 Winter Olympics, and then won the silver medal in the Olympic giant slalom, 0.40 seconds behind teammate Debbie Armstrong at Jahorina. Soon after, a run at her hometown resort of Sun Valley was named in her honor: the run "Silver Fox" on Seattle Ridge was renamed "Christin's Silver." Nearby on Seattle Ridge is "Gretchen's Gold," a run named after Gretchen Fraser, a gold medalist in the slalom at the 1948 Winter Olympics and a mentor to Cooper.

Cooper retired from international competition following the 1984 season, in which she was the runner-up in the season's giant slalom standings. She completed her racing career at age 24 with five World Cup victories, 26 podiums, and 68 top tens.Ski-db.com - results - Christin Cooper - accessed 2010-03-05

World Cup results

Season standings Season Age Overall Slalom GiantSlalom Super G Downhill Combined 1977 17 35 18 25 notrun — — 1978 18 18 7 20 — — 1979 19 21 16 — 42 — 1980 20 18 21 11 — — 1981 21 4 2 7 42 11 1982 223 3 5 21 9 1983 23 12 16 12 notawarded — 5 1984 24 6 9 2 29 6

Race podiums 5 victories – (1 GS, 2 SL, 2 K) 26 podiums – (1 SG, 10 GS, 9 SL, 6 K); 68 top tens Season Date Location Discipline Place 1981 21 Jan 1981    Crans-Montana, Switzerland Slalom2ndCombined3rd 31 Jan 1981    Les Diablerets, Switzerland Slalom2nd 03 Feb 1981 Zwiesel, West Germany Slalom3rd 08 Feb 1981 Combined3rd 13 Mar 1981 Furano, Japan Giant slalom3rd 15 Mar 1981 Slalom2nd 25 Mar 1981    Wangs-Pizol, Switzerland Giant slalom2nd 1982 21 Dec 1981 Saint-Gervais, France Combined1st 23 Jan 1982 Berchtesgaden, West Germany Slalom1st 1982 World Championships 9 Feb 1982 Oberstaufen, West Germany Giant slalom2nd 21 Mar 1982 Alpe d'Huez, France Giant slalom3rd 25 Mar 1982 San Sicario, Italy Giant slalom3rd 27 Mar 1982 Montgenèvre, France Slalom1st 1983 17 Dec 1982 Piancavallo, Italy Slalom3rdCombined1st 23 Jan 1983 Saint-Gervais, France Combined2nd 1984 14 Dec 1983 Sestriere, Italy Combined3rd 22 Dec 1983 Haus im Ennstal, Austria Giant slalom3rd 15 Jan 1984 Maribor, Yugoslavia Slalom3rd 23 Jan 1984 Limone Piemonte, Italy Slalom3rd 29 Jan 1984 Saint-Gervais, France Giant slalom2nd 1984 Winter Olympics 04 Mar 1984 Mt. Ste. Anne, QC, Canada Super-G3rd 07 Mar 1984 Lake Placid, NY, USA Giant slalom1st 11 Mar 1984 Waterville Valley, NH, USA Giant slalom3rd 17 Mar 1984 Jasná, Czechoslovakia Giant slalom3rd

World championship results   Year    Age   Slalom   Giant  Slalom  Super-G Downhill Combined 1978 18 DNF2 23 not run — — 1980 20 8 7 — — 1982 222 2 — 3 From 1948 through 1980, the Winter Olympics were also the World Championships for alpine skiing.At the World Championships from 1954 through 1980, the combined was a "paper race" using the results of the three events (DH, GS, SL).

Olympic results   Year    Age   Slalom   Giant  Slalom  Super-G Downhill Combined 1980 20 8 7 not run — not run 1984 24 DNF1 2 —

Post-racing Cooper has worked as a television broadcaster for CBS and NBC, covering alpine ski racing, including the 2010 Vancouver games. She teamed with Tim Ryan, a fellow Ketchum resident, during the 1992, 1994, and 1998 Winter Olympics. Christin and her husband, former U.S. Ski Team member Mark Taché (of Aspen, CO),Ski-db.com - Mark Tache - accessed 2010-03-05 are co-founders of Montana Ale Works, a public house and restaurant in Bozeman, Montana.Montana Ale Works.com - about us - accessed 2011-01-09

2014 Winter Olympics While covering the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi as a reporter on alpine skiing for NBC, Cooper was widely criticized for her interview with Bode Miller after his bronze medal win in the super G at Rosa Khutor. During the post-event interview on February 16, Miller became increasingly emotional. Cooper repeatedly questioned him about his late brother Chelone, who had died the previous April at the age of 29, until Miller broke down in tears and was unable to continue.

For her pressing of the issue, Cooper was accused of badgering Miller. Later that evening, Miller tweeted his fans should "be gentle" with Cooper, as it was "not at all her fault," and "she asked the questions every interviewer would have." The following morning on The Today Show, Miller reiterated his support for Cooper, saying, "I have known Christin a long time, and she's a sweetheart of a person. I know she didn't mean to push. I don't think she really anticipated what my reaction was going to be, and I think by the time she realized it, it was too late. I don't blame her at all."

The race and Cooper's interview were aired by NBC in prime time on U.S. television, more than fifteen hours after its midday completion in Russia. The network had ample time to exclude that uncomfortable segment, but chose not to.

Video

References

External links

Sports Illustrated - 1984 Winter Olympics - 20-Feb-1984